Humboldt New Year's kept in check; agencies report no major incidents

Drunk in public, DUI and other typical New Year's Eve arrests marked the holiday weekend around Humboldt County, but local law enforcement said there were no single incidents that stood out.

California Highway Patrol Sgt. Doug Tupen said there wasn't a single DUI arrest by the CHP on Monday, and his fellow officers reported that many of the cars they stopped had designated drivers.

"We're getting that point across," Tupen said.

Countywide, police from seven agencies arrested 49 motorists on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances over a 19-day period from Friday, Dec. 14 to midnight Tuesday. There were no DUI-related fatal collisions.

The arrests resulted from DUI checkpoints, and "saturation patrols," all part of a campaign known as "Avoid the 7." Over the same period last year, 48 arrests were made.

Statewide, 1,273 DUIs were recorded by the California Highway Patrol over the holiday weekend, with 19 dead due to traffic-related collisions. Last year, about the same amount were arrested for DUIs statewide.

Eureka Police Department Traffic Officer Gary Whitmer said there were the "typical drunk and disorderly people" in Eureka, but nothing stood out.

There was one DUI-related crash in Eureka on New Year's Eve, but Whitmer said one officer who made 28 traffic-related stops over the course of the night found every car had a designated driver.

"He was very, very impressed," Whitmer said.

The sheriff's office had a relatively quiet New Year's Eve, said Lt. Steve Knight. The department broke up a couple parties, and had several calls related to people shooting off fireworks, and the usual drunk in public arrests, he said. The sheriff's office made about six drunk in public arrests, and other assorted arrests related to vandalism and possession of a controlled substance, police logs show.

Sgt. Todd Dokweiler with the Arcata Police Department said New Year's Eve celebrations and incidents in his city were also generally uneventful. Officers arrested about six people on suspicion of public intoxication.

His department has taken an aggressive stance toward keeping rambunctious, drunk partiers off the Arcata Plaza after several thousand dollars worth of damage was caused on Halloween night in 2011.

He said there weren't many people around the traditional gathering place on Monday, even during the usual surge at midnight.

The department erected barricades around the President William McKinley statute, set up portable lights and had an increased police presence as a deterrent.

"There's not a big pile on my desk this morning," Dokweiler said Wednesday. "So that's a good sign."